The blueprint for Byrum Brown to become the best QB in Auburn history
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Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown will get one season to prove his worth to Auburn fans in 2026.
He comes in with high expectations after 7,690 passing yards and 2,265 rushing yards over a four-year span at USF. He joins Auburn's roster after producing two 3,000-yard passing seasons, and he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in rushing for the first time in his career last season.
He moves from the American Athletic Conference to the SEC, which is a massive jump. However, he follows his head coach and offensive coordinator from USF to Auburn and will have several of his USF weapons alongside him during the process.
Brown certainly has the credentials to succeed at Auburn, but what numbers will he need to produce to have the best regular season in program history?
Auburn has had several great quarterbacks in its history, from Pat Sullivan to Bo Nix, and several others in between, including Stan White, Jason Campbell, and Jarrett Stidham.
In its history, Auburn has had just one quarterback pass for over 2,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 in a single season. Auburn has also had just two quarterbacks pass for over 3,000 yards in a single season.
Brown has accomplished both of those feats, and it will be interesting to see how his game translates to the bright lights of the SEC. If Brown wants to hold the record for the best single-season performance by an Auburn quarterback in history, here are the players and feats he must accomplish to do so.
Pat Sullivan (1970)
Pat Sullivan was the first Heisman Trophy winner in Auburn football history, doing so in 1971. However, his best season in orange and blue occurred the year before.
Sullivan accumulated 2,856 yards in 1970, with his 2,586 passing yards and 17 touchdowns leading the SEC that season. His top target, Terry Beasley, reeled in 1,051 of those yards for 11 scores. His 28 total touchdowns scored were the most by an Auburn quarterback before Cam Newton broke the record during his Heisman campaign in 2010. However, no other Auburn quarterback has gotten within five touchdowns of Sullivan's, outside of Newton, since.
Sullivan is still viewed as the standard when it comes to Auburn quarterbacks, and aiming to match his numbers will be a great goal for Brown to reach in 2026.
Payton Thorne (2024)
If you were to ask an Auburn fan who their favorite all-time Tiger quarterback is, you probably won't hear the name Payton Thorne often. However, he did produce solid numbers in 2024 that can not be ignored.
Thorne compiled 2,996 yards in 2024, the fourth-highest total by an Auburn quarterback in history, and his 23 touchdowns tie Bo Nix (2019) and Jason Campbell (2004) for third-most by an Auburn quarterback in a single season.
His 2,713 passing yards rank fourth among season-high marks, and his 223 rushing yards are third behind Cam Newton (2010) and Bo Nix (2019).
Although Thorne played for Auburn just two seasons ago, Brown will have an entirely different offensive cast, especially at wide receiver and offensive line. It will be interesting to see how well Brown performs compared to other quarterbacks during this decade.
Jarrett Stidham (2017)
Only two quarterbacks in Auburn history passed for over 3,000 yards in a season, one of them is Jarrett Stidham.
The quarterback from Texas passed for 3,158 yards on an SEC-best 246 completions and 18 touchdowns. His top target, Ryan Davis, caught an SEC-best 84 passes that season for 815 yards. Six total receivers gained over 190 yards receiving that season, including Kerryon Johnson, who recorded 194 receiving yards in addition to his SEC-leading 1,391 rushing yards.
Stidham was not known for being a runner, but he did manage to be in the green in yardage by rushing for 153 yards. Mixing in his passing numbers, Stidham completed the second-best season by an Auburn quarterback in history by producing 3,311 total yards.
If Brown can get the passing portion of his game down, he could top Stidham's numbers and slide into the single-season history books.
Dameyune Craig (1997)
Dameyune Craig led the Auburn Tigers to the SEC Western Division championship in 1997 and was two points away from winning the conference title, falling to Peyton Manning and Tennessee, 30-29.
Craig holds Auburn's single-season passing yards record by throwing for 3,277 yards in 1997, with 22 touchdown tosses. That season, Craig had a plethora of targets to throw to as eight receivers recorded over 100 receiving yards, with three going over 500 yards. The Tigers' leading receiver, Tyrone Goodson, reeled in 48 catches for 906 yards and five touchdowns. Karsten Bailey was next in line with 840 yards, topping Goodson in catches (53) and touchdowns (7).
Brown has thrown for over 3,000 yards twice in his college career, and could accomplish the same feat as Craig due to the stable of receivers he has, most of whom he is familiar with.
However, Brown has an advantage over Craig in running. Craig rushed for exactly zero yards in 1997 despite being tabbed with 96 carries. Brown is coming off a 1,000-yard rushing season, so even if he dips below 1,000 yards on the ground this season, Brown still has a chance to top Craig's numbers from 1997.
Cam Newton (2010)
Cam Newton had the best season by an Auburn quarterback in history, and it is not particularly close. Newton passed for 2,854 yards and rushed for an additional 1,473 yards in 2010, bringing his season total to 4,327. His efforts led him to a Heisman Trophy win and played a major role in Auburn's BCS National Championship win over Oregon.
His mark is over 1,000 yards higher than the No. 2 player on the list (Dameyune Craig, 1997). He also scored 50 touchdowns that season; no other Auburn quarterback has scored over 28 in a season.
Brown will have a heavy task trying to top these numbers, let alone touching them. However, Cam Newton proved that the feat can be accomplished.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: The blueprint for Byrum Brown to become the best QB in Auburn history
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